As the two iconic battling moose towered above, Dennis Riedhammer chiseled mortar away from the sculpture’s base, one rock at a time. Riedhammer’s job this week is just one part of a process to restore the base of the bronze sculpture in East Grand Forks, Minn., which contained a serious design flaw. Originally, the base had a lichen cover that …
I’ll bet a $12,000 custom Taylor guitar you didn’t know local area musicians are competing in a northern Red River Valley songwriter challenge. Eighteen musicians so far have submitted their YouTube video entries in the 2018 Half Brothers Songwriter Challenge. Half Brothers Brewing Co., in Grand Forks, is the main sponsor for the competition. The contest runs throughout the summer. …
Spring teased the Northland last weekend. The seasonal diversion seemed as though it knew the winds from hell would soon attack us from the north. Rarely do March temperatures rise into the balmy, high 40s. But when they do, cabin fever-crazy Minnesotans head — where else? — outside. Sunday was the ideal day to take a hike along the East …
We’ve all been there. You’ve bought something — an appliance, tool, toy, DIY furniture, whatever — and the time arrives to use the thing. But first, decision-making time arrives. You see, humans divide themselves into those who read instructions before use, and those who don’t. Many, many men (mostly) I know believe they are born with that special intuitive skill — you know, …
Fall has finally arrived, and we’re on a roll. I said two blogs ago Nature is pregnant with surprises and looked forward to a return trip to the Brainerd (Minn.) Lakes Area to discover more of them. A couple of weeks ago, my oldest daughter, Arin, and her mountain climbing son, Asher, stumbled on a delicious species of edible mushroom called the …
Coupon grocery shopping is sort of like hunting for Easter eggs. Since I have no say in our household, I do both the shopping and egg hunting. The local family-owned grocery monopoly mails coupons to residents every once in awhile. Two weeks ago, we received some, so I decided I’d go spend and save some money. The colorful coupon package …
The stuff on the log looked like something that belonged in an ocean. Like pure, white clumps of coral growing on a reef, it stood out in stark relief to the jungle green of early September’s foliage. How could we have missed it? That we had passed it by the first time on our short hike on the mountain bike …
Since the 1930s, beginning with our great-grandfather’s clan, family members have heard wolves howl, grouse drum, deer blow, coyotes yip and bark, owls hoot, frogs croak. Then, there are the frequent, mysterious and sometimes scary unidentified critters who scream or moan or bray worse than almost all of our impressive presidential candidates. Most of the time we hear the sounds …
Unheralded.fish became a year old this week. One-year-olds are a blast to watch as they grow. They’re fresh, fun, unpredictable, messy, emotional, creative, aware and always entertaining. I’m describing my granddaughter, but many of those characteristics could describe the Fish, too. In the second year of life, humans slowly but surely learn to become aware of their environment. They become …
Yes, it’s 20 below. So what. In January, zero feels warm. Ten feels balmy. Twenty is sublime. And 32 is shirts and a vest temperature. We who live up North deal with stuff like cold with humor, which always makes the world a little warmer. You’ve probably seen or heard the following It’s So cold jokes, but some of these …
At 5 a.m. last weekend, our phone weather apps revealed the news: 13 below, a predicted a high of zero, plus a 20 mph blow. Perfect. We didn’t care as we headed east to the Red Lake Indian Reservation and a rendezvous with rainbow trout. Introductions I was the back seat passenger in a pickup with two friends, both named …
Fair pay — what a concept President Obama launches his quest to make the case that the federal government should require employers to pay overtime to all salaried workers who earn less than $50,000 per year. http://www.startribune.com/obama-s-overtime-proposal-becomes-new-flashpoint-in-america-s-slow-wage-comeback/311352151/ Why we like Netflix is quite simple For better or worse, Americans love to zone out and watch TV. Working 60 hours a …
Americans have lost confidence in just about everything The USA, Americans say, basically sucks right now. The latest Gallup Poll says Americans over the past two years have lost confidence in, well — name it: Congress (8 percent); the presidency (33 percent); Supreme Court (32 percent); big friggin banks (“institutions” that made $4 billion charging customers for money transactions … 28 …
Cruise the Coolest Maps of Minnesota’s water ever made Blogger David Montgomery presents on twincities.com a few maps that capture Minnesota’s water in the Land of 10,000 lakes — or is it 28,176 distinct wetlands, ponds and lakes? And don’t forget to checkout the state’s flowing water, including rivers and 3,768 unnamed streams and 2,032 unnamed creeks — not including drainage ditches …
We told our brown bear story matter of factly to Ken and Neil Marlow. Their reaction confirmed what we had suspected. In their words, we had a very dangerous experience with an Alaskan brown bear despite not having seen nor heard the bruin. But the odor of the bear itself, or the carcass of its main course, probably a moose, …
My brother and I were waiting for a sign from God or someone to help us make one of the most important decisions of the year, not to mention our lives: to fish or not to fish Saturday’s May Opening Day in Minnesota. The five-day forecast for northeastern Minnesota where we fish calls for you name it: rain, maybe snow, …
Baby steps. Painful steps. Think baby steps. Take tiny steps and keep moving up, up, up these damnable mountains. My hiking boots step and stumble on some of the oldest rocks on the planet as we hike into the clouds of the Beartooth Mountains. We’ve already gained 7,000 feet in elevation, and the air isn’t exactly Gulf Coast thick and …
326,170 Minnesotans live within half-mile danger zone of Bakken oil trains Transporting oil by rail cars is risky business because North Dakota oil is highly flammable and explosive. Those oil cars cruise past 6 percent of Minnesota’s residents, who live within a half-mile of rail routes carrying crude oil ; a half-mile is considered the evacuation danger zone. Five to seven trains …
An idea to eliminate pro sports stadium wars For 30 years, the owners of the Professional Sports Cult have screwed the public with a subsidy bill of $17 billion. Sports loyalty, at least in Minnesota, is a one-way street. Pay the bill and watch marginal teams lose. Ahhh. But now, there’s hope for taxpayers down the road, just not in …
So called tech journalists gathered in San Francisco on Monday to breathlessly wait in awe for Apple CEO Tim Cook to announce details about the oh-so-cool, gotta-have-one “wearable device. It’s a well-known fact that these reporters follow Cook around like puppies following their mother. Meanwhile social media outlets vomited up-to-the second developments — Live Streaming! — from the Apple Special …
Oil rig activity plunges on the Bakken A top state official says North Dakota could lose as many as 4,000 oil field jobs as production plunges towards 1 million barrels per day, the lowest level since February 2009. The rig count — 193 a year ago — could drop to 100 this year. http://www.startribune.com/business/296155211.html Big oil’s business model is broken Michael Klare …
‘How we won net neutrality’ Craig Aaron, president and CEO of Free Press, explains why the FCC’s decision to ensure fair treatment of all Web traffic on Internet service provider networks is a victory for the public over corporate lies and deception. “This is what democracy looks like,” Aaron writes. “The FCC is reversing a decade of failed policies, rejecting …
Kea snarled at her Master when he tried to get into bed last night. Yes, the dog was occupying His space, which sometimes is shared territory, until he needs to sleep, which is far less than the dog’s requirement these days. At least the spot her hairy body vacates is warm, a good thing when the temp is set at …